R. v. Quartey, 2018 SCC 59, [2018] 3 S.C.R. 687

Case Summary

The appellant challenged a sexual assault conviction, arguing errors in credibility assessment, burden of proof analysis, and reliance on impermissible generalizations and stereotypes. The Court held that the trial judge's reasons disclosed a clear path of reasoning and permitted effective appellate review. It concluded the trial judge properly applied the governing credibility principles and did not impose a higher scrutiny standard on the appellant's evidence. The Court further held the impugned comments were case-specific credibility findings rather than stereotypical reasoning. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction was upheld.

Supreme Court of Canada

Appeal heard: December 14, 2018 Judgment rendered: December 14, 2018 Docket: 38026

Between

Kingsley Yianomah Quartey

Appellant

and

Her Majesty The Queen

Respondent

Coram: Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown and Martin JJ.

Reasons for Judgment: (paras. 1 to 3)

Brown J. (Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté and Martin JJ. concurring)

R. v . Quartey, 2018 SCC 59, [2018] 3 S.C.R. 687

Kingsley Yianomah Quartey Appellant

Her Majesty The Queen Respondent

Indexed as: R. v. Quartey

2018 SCC 59

File No.: 38026.

2018: December 14.

Present: Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown and Martin JJ.

on appeal from the court of appeal for alberta

Criminal law — Evidence — Assessment — Credibility — Burden of proof — Generalizations and stereotypes — Accused convicted of sexual assault — Court of Appeal holding that trial judge’s credibility assessment could be reasonably supported by the record and that he did not apply generalizations and stereotypes in rejecting accused’s evidence or shift burden of proof to accused — Conviction upheld.

Cases Cited

Referred to: R. v. W. (D.), [1991] 1 S.C.R. 742.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Alberta Court of Appeal (Berger, Wakeling and Strekaf JJ.A.), 2018 ABCA 12 , 43 C.R. (7th) 359, [2018] A.J. No. 55 (QL), 2018 CarswellAlta 70 (WL Can.), affirming the conviction of the accused for sexual assault. Appeal dismissed.

Kathryn Quinlan , for the appellant.

Troy Couillard , for the respondent.

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by

Judgment

[ 1 ] Brown J. — We agree substantially with the majority at the Court of Appeal, and would dismiss the appeal. The trial judge’s analysis of the evidence reveals his path of reasoning that led to conviction, and permits effective appellate review.

[ 2 ] Moreover, the trial judge did not err in his credibility analysis. He did not shift the burden of proof or hold the appellant’s evidence to a higher standard of scrutiny than that applied to the complainant’s evidence. As the majority at the Court of Appeal observed, the trial judge instructed himself on the principles of R. v. W. (D.), [1991] 1 S.C.R. 742, and, based on internal contradictions in the appellant’s testimony and on the strength of the complainant’s testimony, he was entitled to conclude that the Crown had met its burden of proving the appellant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

[ 3 ] N or did the trial judge err by applying generalizations and stereotypes in rejecting the appellant’s evidence. We agree with the majority at the Court of Appeal that the trial judge’s statements in this regard were directed to the appellant’s own evidence and to the believability of the appellant’s claims about how he responded to the specific circumstances of this case, and not to some stereotypical understanding of how men in those circumstances would conduct themselves.

Judgment accordingly.

Solicitors for the appellant: Dawson Duckett Garcia & Johnson, Edmonton.

Solicitor for the respondent: Alberta Department of Justice, Edmonton.